Car-coupling.



H. J. DEAN.

GAR COUPLING.

APPLIUATION FILED APR. 9, 1908.

937,023, Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

Wit- $525,

HARRY J". DEAN, 0F MEADVILLE, PENNSYLVANIA.

I CAR-COUPLING.

Specification of Iietters Patent.

Application filed April 9,1908. Serial No. 426,065.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it known that I, HARRY J. DEAN, a citizen of the United States, residing at Meadville, in the county of Crawford and State of Pennsylvania, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gar-Couplers; and I do hereby declare the following to be a full, clear, and exact description of the invention, such as will enable others skilled in the art to which it appertains to make and use the same, reference being had to the accompanying drawings, and to the letters of reference marked thereon, forming part of this specification. 1

My invention relates generally to carcouplers, and particularly to that class thereof known as the J anney. type.

The objects ofmy invention areto provide a car-coupler with mechanism whereby when the unlocking mechanism on one'half of a coupler is operated to unlock it,jthe other half of the coupler coupled. thereto will automatically become unlocked, and the interlocking knuckles oneach half will remain open until another coupling knuckle is thrust into place therein. I

Another object is to provide a locking mechanism which will stay looked as long .as the coupling knuckles grasp each other, and when they do not so grasp each other, to become unlocked and the knuckles remain open until the couplers are againpushed together.

Another object of my inventionis to provide a yielding draft mechanism between the coupler mechanism and the body of the car.

These and other features of my invention appear hereinafterin the specification and claims, and are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:; f U

Figure 1 is a top orplan view of a carcoupler embodying my invention. Fig-2is a horizontalsection of the same; Fig. 3 isa like view of one portion. of said coupler, showing the same unlocked and open. Fig. 4 is a longitudinal central section of the same. Fig. 5 is a cross-section of the same on the line w-w in Figs, 1, 2 and A. r

In these drawings A and A aredupl fcate car-coupler bodies, and B and B are the draw-bars by which they are attached to the car-bodies C. The duplicate portions of my coupler are, in this description given different reference characters (as A andjA? for convenience infldescribingthe operation of the coupler. But as they are exact duplicates of each other a description of the construction of one portion thereof is suiticient, without definite reference to the other portion of the coupler. I will therefore proceed to describe the construction of one half, giving to like parts in the duplicate half like letters of reference with the prime markto distinguish them in the description of thefoperation hereinafter given.

The body A and draw-bar B of my improvedcoupler is provided with a central opening a and 6, extending backward from the front of the coupler to the rear end of the draw-bar B where it terminates in a recess b somewhat larger in cross-section than the opening I), the portion of the central opening a is enlarged so as to receive the mechanism hereinafter described. At the front end of the recess 6 there is a shoulder 72 and the rear end 7) of the recess 6 isclosed. Inthe sides of the recess 6 I provide slots D (see Fig. 2). Within the recess 6 I place a block D with trunnions d passing outward through the slots D in the side walls of the recess 6 the trunnions d being intended to be secured in the underframingC of the car in any suitable manner. Within the recess on each side of the block D I place a coil spring 1) of sufiicient resistance to form a suitable resilient draft .mechanism for the coupler, which will allow of a limited movement of the draw-bar in the car frame.

The coupler A has a knuckle E pivoted. in one side thereof in the usual manner. This knuckle is provided with an arm E which .is substantially at a right angle thereto and extends backward into the coupler body A asuflicient distance to be engaged by the ,lock-bar F (see Figs. 1., 4tand 5 and in broken linesin Figs. 2 and 3), located in a vertical slot in the coupler body. For operating this lock-bar F to unlock the coupling, I provide a bell-crank lever G which is pivoted. in the coupling body in a slot 9 therein, said lever G being provided with a shoulder 9 adapted to engage a shoulder g on the body of the coupling for the purpose of limiting the movement of the lever G and lock-bar F. The arm E of the knuckle E is provided with an arm 6 on the front in the draw-bar B I place a coil-spring H Patented Oct. 12, 1909.

which extends through the central openingin the coil-spring D and rests against the blockD I then place in the opening 7). a.

hollow bar J, having on the front end thereof a head J Just back of the head J the bar J is provided with a vertical slot j and wit-ha horizontal slot 7' each of which is parallel with the centralopeningJ in the bar J. The arm 6 on the arm E of the k mickleis placedwithin the horlzontal slot 1' a-nda p n 6 18 secured in an opening in saida rm c, the ends ofsaid pin 6? extendin vertically through the slot 7' in the bar l/Vithinthe central opening in the bar J and bearing against the arm 6 in the slot j 1 I place a short rod or pin J, and back of the rod J 4 I place a coiledspring J 5 which is secured insaid opening by means of a screw plug J On the upper side of the bar J I provide ashoulder K adapted to engage the extension G of the lever G. The object of the spring pressed pin J 4 and spring J 5 in the bar J is to permit the bar J to slide forward far enough to cause the lever G to raise the lockbar F before the J forces the knuckle E open, the knuckle remaining closed while the spring H in the draw 4 bar. forces the rod J forward, thereby compressing the spring J 5 until the shoulder K 011 therod J operates the lever G to raise the lock-bolt F, and thereby to permit the springs H and J 5 to throw open the knuckle E.

In operation when it is desired to unlock my improved coupler the lever in the coupler A is forced backward to raise the lock-bar E so that the arm E of the knuckle may pass under it, and when the lever G is released while the knuckle is open the lockbar. F, rests upon the arm or plat-e e which also prevents the lever G returning to its locked position until the lockbar F again falls in front of the arm E Vhen the knuckle E is, opened and slides out of the grasp of the knuckleE the spring H in the draw-bar B will force the bar J in the coupler A forward until the shoulder K thereon contacts with the extension G on the lever G and forces it forward thereby raising the lock-bar F of the coupler A up, andallowing the knuckle E to be thrown, open by the action of the spring J 5 behind coupler A, and as the two are pressed together the respective bars J will be forced backwardinto the coupler bodies, and close theknuckles E and E into grasping or interlocking position, as shown in Fig. 1, and the locking bars F will fall in front of the arms E and-thereby securely lock them in that position, as long as the knuckles are interlocked.

It will thus be seen that l have constructed a coupler, each half of which will stay closed and locked as long as the other half is interlocked therewith, but which will instantly unlockand open when the opposing I half thereof becomes disengaged therefrom from any cause whatever.

Havmgthus fully shown and described my invention so as to enable others to construct and use the same, what I claim as new and desire to secure byLetters-Patent is:

l. The combination 111 a car coupler of a coupler. body, a coupler knuckle pivoted thereto, locking mechanism adapted to retain said knuckle in a closed position, a lever adapted to operate said locking mechanism, an extension on said lever, a hollow spring actuated slide-bar having horizontal and vertical slots therein, a shoulder on said bar adapted to engage the extension on said lever, a spring actuated pin within said slidebar, an arm on said knuckle the free end of which extends into the horizontal slot in said slide-bar and is engaged by said spring actuated pin, and a pivot pin passing through said vertical slot and secured in said arm, substantially as set forth.

2. The combination of a coupler body, a coupler knuckle pivoted thereto, a horizontally extending arm thereon, locking mechanism adaptedto retain said knuckle in a closed position, lever mechanism adapted to operate saidlock, a hollow spring actuated slide-bar having horizontal and vertical slots therein adapted to be engaged by the knuckle of another coupler and be pressed backward thereby, a spring actuated pin within said hollow slide-bar, an arm on said knuckle the free end of which extends into the horizontal slot in said slide-bar, a pivot pin secoupler body, a coupler knuckle pivoted therein, a spring actuated bar adapted to throw the knuckle back when it is unlocked and retain it in that position, locking mechanism adapted to lock said'knuckle in a closed position, a lock operating lever adapted to be engaged by said springactuated bar to operate said lock, and a shoulder on the coupler body adapted to limit the movement of said lever, substantially as set forth.

4. The combination in a car coupler section of a coupler body, a coupler knuckle pivoted therein, locking mechanism for retaining said knuckle in a closed position, a

spring. actuated bar adapted to disengage 3. The combination in a car coupler. of aT said locking mechanism, swing said knuckle open and retain it in an open position when said coupler section is disengaged from another coupler section, substantially as set forth.

5. The combination in a coupler section, of a coupler body, a couplerknuckle pivoted therein, mechanism for locking said knuckle in a closed position, and a spring actuated bar adapted to release said knuckle, swing it open and yieldingly retain it in such unlocked open position until another coupler section contacts with said coupler section, substantially as set forth.

6. The combination of duplicate car coupler sections, each comprising substantially a coupler body, a coupler knuckle pivoted therein, means for locking the coupler knuckle in a closed position, a spring actuated bar adapted to disengage the knuckle locking mechanism, and operating,when the couplers move apart to automatically release and open the coupler knuckle on each coupler section and yieldingly retain the knuckle on each section in such unlocked open position until the coupler sections-are again brought together when the knuckle locking mechanism of each coupler section automatically operates to lock the knuckle on each coupler section in a closed position as long as the two knuckles grasp each other, substantially as set forth. 7

In testimony whereof I affix my signature, in presence of two witnesses.

HARRY J. DEAN.

Witnesses:

W. K. DEAN, Jim. R. DEAN. 

